Conference topics: Political, economic and legal aspects in ethnic and national minority conflict resolution. Cultural diversity of Central Europe. Impacts of European Union accession policies/processes.

Aims: This interdisciplinary and cross-cultural meeting welcomes presentations on the cultural studies, sociology, geography, political science, law, history and economics research and cross border cooperation within the wider Central European region. The conference is supported by the Institute for Cultural Relations Policy (ICRP) and King Sigismund College (ZSKF). Its aim is to serve as a meeting point to facilitate the public exposure of the perspectives and interests of different communities, governments, international organisations, NGOs, businesses, scholars, thinkers and common citizens.

Programme summary
• Invited speakers include diplomats, scholars, acting and former leading politicians or government officials from across Central and Eastern Europe.

• Prof. Dr. Tibor Várady Former Minister of Justice of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. University Professor at the Legal Studies Department of the Central European University, Budapest, Hungary. Member of the Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration. Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

• Prof. Dr. Florian Bieber Professor at University of Graz, Austria (Karl-Franzens Universität) for Southeast European Studies. Founder and Editor of Balkan Academic News. Editor-in-Chief of Nationalities Papers. Member, Editorial Board of Ethnopolitics and Südosteuropa.

• Dr. Levente Salat President of the Ethnocultural Diversity Resource Center (EDRC Romania), Associate Professor at Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania. Member of the Scientific Council of the Research Institute of Ethnic and National Minorities, Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

• Oľga Gyárfášová, PhD co-founder, Program Director and Senior Research Fellow of the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO Slovakia) and lecturer at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia.

• Bálint Ódor Deputy State Secretary for EU Affairs of Hungary. Lecturer at Budapest Business School. Author of Európai Tükör, Európai Jog, Magyar Kisebbség periodicals.

• Conference days consist of lectures by invited speakers, members of ICRP Advisory Board as well as presentations of guest speakers and Q&A sessions. Optional sightseeing programmes on last day of conference.
• Best presentations will be selected by a panel of judges and awarded during the closing ceremony.
• Submitted and confirmed papers will be published online and will be archived on DVDs.
• In case of large number of participants, papers will be published in conference book as well.
• The main language of the conference is English.

Conference themes
(Possible directions may include, but are not restricted to, the following)
• Regional development path of Central and Eastern Europe;
• Central and Eastern Europe compared to other European regions;
• Changing transnational structures of demography, interethnic relations, settlements and production;
• Society, Culture, Religions, Lifestyle;
• Economic issues;
• Modernisation processes (state administration, law, politics, ideologies);
• Culture and Art in Central Europe;
• Nation building, national ideologies, national identity question, ethnic minority issues;
• Diplomacy, diaspora policies and interstate relations

Conference location: King Sigismund College (Zsigmond Kiraly Foiskola). Kelta utca 2. Budapest (1039) Hungary

Benefits of attending
• The opportunity to present your research within a unique forum and collaborate with experts from wider regions and around the world;
• Conference papers/abstracts are peer-reviewed by members of ICRP international Advisory Board;
• Published papers in electronic format (Proceedings available on DVD and in on ICRP website, where they will remain accessible to thousands of researchers and practitioners worldwide.);
• Get in touch with different views and new approaches;
• A chance to promote your research by presenting it to relevant people and organizations (active politicians, decision-makers, diplomats);
• To get more knowledge about foreign relations of the Eastern and Central European countries;
• Tea, coffee and refreshments will be served during the program. (Lunch not included in the price);
• Group sightseeing in Budapest is also part of the program.


How to apply for participation (listeners)?
The application is a two-step procedure and it includes the submission of Registration Form to conference@culturalrelations.org and payment of registration fee (45 EUR*). Deadline of submission & payment: 11 March, 2013.

How to apply for paper presentation (speakers)?
The application is a two-step procedure and it includes the submission of Registration Form to conference@culturalrelations.org and payment of registration fee (90 EUR*). Deadline of submission: 11 March, 2013. Authors will be notified of conditional acceptance or rejection within 5 working days after each submission. Registration fee shall be paid by bank transfer OR cheque prior to event OR at the same time as first day registration.

* NOTE that the international money transfer fee is 15 EUR. If you intend to transfer the conference fee outside Hungary the total sum will be 60 EUR for listener registration and 105 EUR for speakers. In order to reduce money transfer costs, speakers are entitled to make payment in cash during the registration (original speaker registration fee 90 EUR).


Submitted abstracts will be evaluated by an international reviewing committee.
Authors will be notified of conditional acceptance or rejection in 5 working days after submission

Event organised by the Institute for Cultural Relations Policy in cooperation with King Sigismund College of Budapest

The event targets a broad spectrum of undergraduate, PhD student, candidate, lecturer and researcher participants, recognising the multidisciplinarity of research in international relations and other related disciplines